


The More Things Change The More Things Stay The Same

by muuchan



Category: Tiger & Bunny
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-17
Updated: 2018-12-17
Packaged: 2019-09-20 20:42:51
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 19,129
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17029683
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/muuchan/pseuds/muuchan
Summary: With Kotetsu's power dwindling, change was inevitable. This is a story that explores the changes that Kotetsu and Bunny have to deal with after the series.





	1. Kotetsu

**Author's Note:**

  * For [MemeKonYA](https://archiveofourown.org/users/MemeKonYA/gifts).



> Special thanks to Morbane for their help on this fic! Here's to hoping you enjoy my little offering MemeKonYA!

 

 

At forty-one, Kotetsu was practically a dinosaur in the Hero business. He knew this even before interviewers began bringing up the topic of retirement in their interviews . Like any sports athlete, a hero’s prime lasted only for so long. He was an anomaly that kept on trucking on even after his powers had dwindled. Most heroes would’ve hung the cape at that point and he was very fortunate to not only have the stubbornness to keep on going, but have the support of his family, friends, and a decent amount of fans.

Whenever the topic came up, he fielded the questions with his usual bumbling ease. He was Kotetsu T. Kaburagi, after all, an expert in the art of avoidance and obfuscation. “I don’t know when to stop, really! I think I’d like to keep going until I can’t!” he’d exclaimed at an interview to the raucous laughter of the studio. He actively made light of the topic, much to the amusement of people around him and Barnaby’s mild annoyance. In those moments, he could believe his own words, but knew better than anyone else that his hero-ing days were numbered.

For all the pain the incident with Maverick had brought him and his friends, it had led to some good. Aside from Barnaby finally getting a second chance at life, there was the treasure trove that was the Brooks’ research in robotics. That knowledge was taken in by Saitou who, in turn, used it to improve their suits greatly. As Kotetsu’s powers dwindled even more, Saitou used what he could to tweak his suit specifically so it would compensate for his lack of powers. But even with the power suits, Kotetsu was aware there was only so much Saitou’s tech could do. And with each mission accomplished, every injury, every scrape and bang-up that came with the job, the limits of Kotetsu’s aging body were becoming more and more apparent.

He’d certainly lasted far longer than anyone had expected him to. Heck, he’d lasted longer than _he’d_ expected him to. His Hundred Power ground down to grand ol’ zero seconds a month after he’d turned thirty-nine. That could have easily been the end of his career.

(It wasn’t.)

The complete loss of his powers had happened during a mission, naturally. There had been an explosion at a mall in the Gold district. The perpetrators were easily apprehended but the search and rescue that followed was a challenge. The Heroes decided to separate to rescue different targets. “If you need help – call me, Kotetsu,” Barnaby sent through the private comm between them.

“Sure thing, Bunny,” he said.

It had been routine; Kotetsu had been saving up his powers for the moment when he absolutely needed them. Eventually, he’d found his moment and did what he’d always done: reached into that place deep within him where that mass of power slept. When he was younger, he hadn’t been wise enough to really identify that _something_ inside him, but years of experience had taught him how to find it and coax it to burst. As Hero, naturally, he had to know how to switch his powers on and off at will. But this time, doing that yielded nothing. The familiar place he’d drawn from was empty.

_Finally_ , he thought, unable to really be surprised at that point.

There was no time to mourn his loss. With Hundred Power closed off, he had to find another way to save the people trapped before him. Barnaby’s words echoed at the back of his mind and he shrugged it off. There was nothing Barnaby could do, he reasoned to himself. It would just be an unnecessary distraction  for his partner.

He knew he was falling into old habits but that was easy to do. There was an injured man in front of him in need of rescuing and a five-floor plunge in the form of a gaping hole standing between them.  Not to mention a fire that threatened to weaken whatever pillars were keeping up the floors beneath them. It was the worst time to be without his Hundred Power.

_‘Maybe it’s time to hang up the suit, Kotetsu. If you can’t handle something like this-‘_  

Shrugging the thoughts of, Kotetsu decided to take his chance. He found ledges to shoot his grappling hooks at and swung with all the weight of his power suit to reach the injured man. Somehow, that had worked and he was lucky the wall didn’t collapse on his way back.  

Looking back, it was stupid and unhero-like. Though nobody got hurt for it, Kotetsu knew he shouldn’t have put lives in danger because of his petty feelings. He should’ve called someone for help. Or Barnaby.

But he didn’t.

In the end, his stubbornness landed him with a broken arm and a few burns here and there. Barnaby was understandably pissed – “I told you to call me, Kotetsu.” –  and at first Kotetsu was able to laugh it off. Easy to do with the other heroes there to laugh with him and pacify Barnaby.

It was a lot harder to keep up the act once they got back to the privacy of Apollon’s trailer.

“Bunny-“  he began, causing Barnaby to pause as he helped Kotetsu remove the rest of his suit.  “….It’s gone.”

“Gone?” Barnaby parroted, not understanding what Kotetsu meant at first. It took a few moments before he realized exactly what Kotetsu meant. “…. You didn’t tell me. Not even that. You didn’t want to tell me.”

“It wasn’t like that… It was just-“

“I told you to call me if something happened. We were out there for that long and you-“ Barnaby frowned. “I thought we were past this, Kotetsu.”

“I know- and I’m sorry. I didn’t want to –  I don’t know, distract you. We were on the job and there were these people – this problem is just… _something_ , you know? Something we knew would happen sometime.”

“It isn’t just something and you know that.” Barnaby sounded hurt and, worse, Kotetsu knew it was _for_ him.  A few beats of silence passed between them. Kotetsu knew there was more Barnaby wanted to say but instead, his partner sighed and seemed to settle for something else. “If something happened to you, I don’t know what I would’ve done, Kotetsu.”

Kotetsu hung his head, recognizing how upset Barnaby was. “I know,” he admitted. The feeling was mutual.

“We can work this out. We knew this was coming. But if we’re going to stay Heroes together, I need you to be honest with me.” _Moreso now._ Kotetsu heard exactly what he didn’t say.

“Is it really okay with you? “

Barnaby’s eyebrows drew together and he looked almost hurt by Kotetsu’s words. “I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t, Kotetsu.”

“I just – I don’t want to be a burden to you, Bunny. It’s gonna be different. Just-”

“Do you want to quit?”

“What – No no –!“ Kotetsu answered quickly and caught the (somewhat) smug look on Barnaby’s face. _‘If you don’t want to quit, why are you bringing that up?’_ Kotetsu could easily imagine Barnaby thinking those words.  He couldn’t help but smile a little self-deprecatingly. “I want to keep going. No way I’m quitting… at least not now. Not like this.” _Maybe one day._

“You won’t be a burden, not unless you _want_ to be. Besides, it’s not going be much of a difference. You don’t use your powers most of the time. What’s another minute or so?”

“Is that supposed to be a compliment or are you ragging at me, Bunny?”

“Maybe it’s both?” Barnaby smiled slyly and Kotetsu felt the weight on his shoulders lift a little.

“Thanks, Bunny.”  

The media, of course, made a bigger deal out of Kotetsu losing his powers. There was no getting out of it, really. And Agnes, not wanting to be  beholden to the whims of gossip sites, decided that Kotetsu’s power loss was going to be explained by Hero TV directly, and in their own terms. She set up a special episode for it and  Kotetsu grit through each and every interview after that with an iron-clad smile and series of pre-planned responses.

“If you want to continue in the business, you better not let them catch any cracks. I know they’ve got a sweet spot for you, Tiger, but if there’s one thing everyone likes more, it’s something to talk about,” Agnes lectured before the first set of interviews. “Don’t give them anything to talk about and Tiger & Barnaby will continue as is.”

Together, with Agnes’ expert guidance, they weathered the media uproar together and when that was past, Kotetsu found life clicking back into place. Barnaby was right: in general, life without Hundred Power wasn’t much different. Ever since his powers had dwindled down to sixty seconds, he’d become accustomed to being even more hyper aware about using his powers to the point of _not_ using them unless he absolutely needed to. And now? Well, it was just a matter of taking Hundred Power off the table completely.

There were changes, naturally. Without Hundred Power, he no longer had a safety net and had to be more careful, more resourceful, more mindful of the limits his body had. Rapid healing, super strength –  gone. It changed the way he fought, something the media noticed after a few months. He also goofed around less against real threats and his actions became more deliberate. He was pushing his body past the original limits he’d put on it. He wasn’t actively doing it and didn’t know he was until Origami Cyclone brought it up one day, letting Kotetsu know that he was more like a ninja now and how awesome was that? Kotetsu couldn’t really imagine him – big and decked in his clunky hero suit – being a ninja, so he laughed it off, but the popularity polls said otherwise.

There was a small surge to his popularity after his power loss. There was something fascinating about watching someone almost completely non-powered perform superhuman feats, apparently. The vast majority of the city wasn’t NEXT, which meant there was a lot of people who found it easier to relate to Kotetsu. He was officially an underdog, a stubborn mule who refused to break down against all odds. It was somewhat flattering, though Kotetsu only cared about how it seemed to make his daughter, Kaede, prouder.  

And then, there was the added benefit of his destructive potential taking a sharp nosedive. Sure, there were times when his suit collapsed rooftops and caved in a wall or two – it was a sturdy thing Saitou had made, a veritable human-sized tank. But at normal strength, there was only so much damage he could really do. It was only when he was doing something like purposefully chucking grenades at vehicles to save people that he was really racking up the destruction points after his power loss. Less damage meant less pay docked and that was something Kotetsu appreciated very much.

It was strange when he caught himself one day thinking about all of this; how losing his powers completely wasn’t the rock bottom he’d envisioned it to be. Now that he was over it, all he really had to worry about was the loss of his sponsorship, right?

And that seemed so far away to Kotetsu, still.

 

***

 

It had been hard for Kotetsu to notice, really. A Hero’s life was busy; between saving lives and promoting their sponsors, there wasn’t much time to contemplate. Or tally. Scrapes and bruises, burns and broken bones; these things were an expected part of a Hero’s life, ones that Kotetsu had long accepted were part of the job.

Months after his complete power loss, he’d chalked up his getting banged up a bit more than usual as a consequence of said power loss. Without his powers, naturally, his job was a bit harder. If he wanted to be on equal footing with Barnaby, he had to bring his A game every time. That meant more training. And that didn’t exactly guarantee things going smoothly during missions.

He didn’t realize he wasn’t just getting banged up ‘a little bit more than usual’ but ‘quite a lot more’ instead until one of the nurses at the med bay joked about setting up a permanent bed for him.

“Mr. Tiger, I’m seeing you a lot more lately. Maybe we should be charging you for rent, hmm?”

“What’s that even mean – you don’t want to treat me anymore?” Kotetsu pouted, waving his injured arm in protest.

Barnaby came up behind him and scoffed. “Maybe they just don’t want to see your face so often. You’re getting careless.”

“Well, if it means seeing Barnaby more often, _we_ don’t mind,” the nurse winked as she pulled Kotetsu closer to check the injury. They’d treated it out on the field but the med bay check- up was to see if there were fractures that needed to be addressed. “Looks like we don’t have to do anything more. But really, Mr. Tiger, you should really be more careful. Not getting young anymore.” She gave the bandaged arm a light slap before sending him off with the usual recommendation of less exertion with the injured parts.

Leaving the med bay, Kotetsu turned to Barnaby with a frown and mumbled, “It’s not that often.”

Barnaby was quiet for a moment. “It’s been pretty often,” he said.

“What, no way?”

“You were here two days ago,” Barnaby pointed out, and then pointed at his head. “Cut on the head? Checked up for concussions?”

Kotetsu made a disgruntled sound. “Alright, so there was that. But still not _that_ often.”

“Just be careful so they don’t put a name plate on your bed, Kotetsu,” Barnaby teased lightly.

“Ain’t gonna happen,” Kotetsu harrumphed, crossing his arms as he did so.

It did make him think from that point on, though, and he became more conscious about the strain he was putting on his body. It was more than before, indeed. It wasn’t just because of his powers being gone either. Abnormal resilience or no, he was still getting older, and when he paid attention, he noticed the little aches and pains the plagued his overworked body. Broken bones and torn muscles took longer to heal now.

He began to realize then that, perhaps, it wasn’t going to be his powers disappearing, or his sponsorships backing out on him that would pave the way to retirement… but himself. His own body.

The problem was, like this, with everything going well again… when should he stop?

When was the right time?

He shook that thought off when it first came to him, refusing to dwell on it at first. “Focus on the present, that’s somewhere in the future.  Not _now_ ,” he told himself. “Think about Bunny –  Bunny’s in this job for you! And think about Tomoe too!”

At the back of his mind, however, he did know – had always known – that the end was always going to be there, whether it was by retirement, being forced out of his job, or…

He found himself at Ben’s office one day, fidgeting with his hat as he waited for his friend to finish signing some contracts with Lloyds. He waited until Lloyds was gone and the doors behind him were shut well and tight before gingerly stepping forward.

“So! Kotetsu, what brings you here?”

“Hi Ben, just thought I’d…. drop by?” He offered a weak little smile.

“What’s going on? Something’s up, isn’t?”

“Well-“

It was hard to get it out, but somehow Kotetsu did manage to ask about the subject of retirement. “Not mine, of course. Not yet- not soon,” he clarified, waving his hands to cancel out even a whiff of the thought. “Just, you have any idea about… how you know? How anyone knows?”

Reading him well, much to Kotetsu's chagrin, Ben smiled. “Hard to retire when the going gets good, huh?”

“I’m not retiring!” Kotetsu denied vehemently.

“Yeah, I understand. In times like that, I suppose you just rely on your instinct. Something that, you just know. You remember what you felt last time when you retired, Kotetsu?”

He thought about it and sighed. He did- somewhat. It felt like years ago. “Yeah, I did. That was different back then though and you know it.”

He had felt useless, as if the only reason he was able to become a Hero had beenwas taken away from him. Back then, he didn’t think a minute was going to be enough for him to be a _good_ Hero. And there was his family  to think of- “It felt like the right time,” Kotetsu said anyway. But he didn’t think he could feel that way again.

“You know how some people retire on a high note? It could be something like that too. Just a feeling.”

“Just a feeling.”

The bottom line was that he didn’t want to retire yet. That day, Ben talked candidly about his high school sports career and how his retirement from that had gone. Kotetsu wanted to say he gleaned something from Ben’s story, but he was probably more focused about imagining Ben as a basketball player.   In the end, Kotetsu left the office without one last “I’m not retiring, yet, okay?” before Ben could ask if his inspirational talk helped.

He met with Barnaby at the office  afterwards and offered to treat him  to drinks later that night. It was something to get his mind off the depressing  thought of retirement.

What would he even do afterwards? He didn’t want to even begin thinking of that yet.

There was a rash of brazen robberies that summer and gang violence that spilled out into the streets of Bronze Stage. There were NEXT involved, naturally, and with their specialty being melee combat, Tiger and Barnaby were in the middle of it all. More than once, Kotetsu found himself wandering back to the med bay to get himself checked out, the most serious incident leaving him with two broken ribs after falling off a building in the middle of the fight. He was lucky it was just that, and had Saitou’s tech and his lucky stars to thank for not walking away with something worse.

Lunatic was, as expected, involved when dead bodies started turning up in unwanted places – and boy was it always fun to deal with him. Especially because Lunatic’s spiel nowadays involved taunting him for his lack of powers.

_“What can your justice do like this, Wild Tiger? Do you wish to perish for your justice so badly? And what will that do?”_

“Maybe, but that’s what heroes do! Fight with everything they’ve got to the end!”

_“And what will your end exactly be?”_

That had him stopping in his tracks – and Barnaby calling out after him in alarm- but fortunately Lunatic was content to fly away with a flourish without shooting one of his blue -flame- charged arrows at him.

If he didn’t think Lunatic was seriously out to kill him, he would think that was the man’s own way of trying to get him to retire. But Lunatic caring about him in any capacity beyond his own self-serving agendas? That was a laugh. Still… Lunatic’s words had hit a raw nerve and when Barnaby ran up beside him and asked him if he was okay, he couldn’t help but be a little defensive.

“It’s nothing. Lunatic’s got nothing on me- Don’t worry about...”

“Are you sure you’re not hurt anywhere at all? Kotetsu-“

“I said I’m fine-“ He realized he had just raised his voice. “I mean.…. Bunny, I don’t think he wanted to fight after we chased him off the guy. Just wanted to talk or something. In that creepy way of his. You think he’s lonely?”

“Don’t change the subject like that. I just wanted to make sure… alright?”

“I got it, Bunny,” he said, smiling weakly at Barnaby before turning away.

And then, that was the first time he heard it in Barnaby’s voice: _‘Maybe it’s time to hang up the suit?’_

He turned back at Barnaby sharply only to find Barnaby arching an eyebrow at him quizzically. “Kotetsu?”

That hadn't been Barnaby, but a voice that sounded like him. He realized then maybe- what if- he wasn’t doing well enough anymore? What if what he was waiting for was for Barnaby to ask him those words?

He realized he didn’t know what he would do if Barnaby said them to his face.

But fortunately for Kotetsu, Barnaby said nothing of the sort. Not when he was bedridden for two weeks after pushing a kid away from getting hit by a truck just because it was his last and only resort without Hundred Power in his arsenal. Not when he almost got shot during a gunfight with gang members. And certainly not when he went head first against Lunatic again to keep him from straight up murdering the leader of a child slavery ring.

Kotetsu almost wanted to ask but each time he found he really couldn’t. Barnaby looked so happy working as a Hero with him, Kotetsu didn’t want to know if Barnaby was faking it or not. They would always be friends, that he knew, because they’d gone through so much to not be friends. But he didn’t know if he was a good enough partner anymore and _didn’t want to ask._

Even if it was driving him up the wall.  

The topic of retirement during interviews hit him harder too, even if he’d gotten good at dodging it or joking about it. He didn’t know when it’d started to get to him, or why, because he’d gotten too far _without_ his powers for that to bother him and make him think of retirement now.

He came close to talking to Bunny about it one night after his second glass of red wine, Barnaby’s preferred alcohol.

“Bunny… you’ll always be my partner, right? I mean, while I’m a Hero.” There was no way he was going to ask Barnaby directly; he managed to go about it the roundabout way.

“For as long as you like,” Barnaby answered in his usual cool tone. _Not always_ –Kotetsu wondered if that was what wasn’t said.

He gulped at his drink and then smiled as he raised his glass. “Thanks, Bunny.”

“Make sure you tell Kaede you’re here if you’re drinking some more,” Barnaby quipped, but got up anyway to fill Kotetsu’s glass.

“I will. Thanks for the drink!”

He drank enough that he hoped to forget he had even asked Barnaby that night, but he was from a family whose family business involved liquor. Barnaby’s words most definitely stuck.  

And then he was forty-one and one of the oldest heroes on Hero TV’s line up, if not the oldest. Antonio had retired a year before and Nathan’s age was something he was purposefully keeping under wraps (“ _A woman’s age has to be a mystery_ ~”). His birthday was held at the Hero-themed bar they frequented, a surprise, really, courtesy of Nathan who booked the whole place and arranged for drinks on the house.  Forty-one wasn’t a milestone so Kotetsu hadn’t been expecting it all, but when he asked Nathan why, his friend just winked at him and said, “Just because I can, honey.”

And so there they were, a party comprised of Kotetsu’s coworkers, Hero friends and Kaede.

His cake was round and green, with numerous candles decidedly not forty-one in number lining its edges. The piping that made up the number forty-one was off-white, light green almost. Kotetsu noticed all that because when they started their little birthday wish speeches, out of embarrassment, he found his eyes darting towards the cake and its shiny lights more often than not.

“Happy Birthday, Mr. Tiger. I hope this year’s a good one too!”

“Kotetsu-san! Please let me teach you some ninja techniques this year!”

“It’s an honor to have worked with you this year! And again, to work with you next year!”

“I hope you have a good one this year…. If you need help- I mean, if Kaede needs help with anything, let me know. Okay?”

And then finally, it was Kaede’s turn. His daughter had grown up a lot and opted to study high school in Stern Bild to be with him more. She’d wanted to stay with her grandmother too but decided she wanted to spread her wings a little out in the city with her father.

“Happy birthday, daddy! I’m proud of you. I think, whether you’re a hero or not… you’ve shown me how important it is to give it your all.”

Kotetsu didn’t know whether to laugh or cry in response to that and settled for hobbling towards his daughter for a hug. Fortunately for him, his daughter let him go for one.

He wasn’t quite ready when it was Barnaby’s turn.

“I’m glad to be able to partner with you for another year, Kotetsu. Every day, you show me what a real hero should be and I can’t ask for a better partner. I’m glad to have you and everyone else.”

“Bunny…”

He must have been smiling because Barnaby was smiling back at him when he looked at him. It was honestly … he wasn’t sure what he was feeling back then and would have been content to just smile back if it weren’t for Kaede jabbing at him with her shoulder. “Daddy, don’t ogle in public, sheesh.”

“Pfft… I’m not ogling anything…” he argued before sneaking a quick look back at Barnaby. Thankfully, the blond was preoccupied at that point, chatting with Nathan and Karina instead. Probably talking about the season and current standing. It made him think about where he stood in the rankings. He was, honestly, close to the bottom rankings and only got by by virtue of being Barnaby’s partner. And last season, Barnaby was edged out by Blue Rose again for the coveted King of Heroes title. That was probably on him.

“Hey, Kaede…”

“Huh?”

“What do you think about papa retiring?” he asked quietly, and wasn’t surprised when Kaede made a little squeak of surprise.

“Whaaat?”

“Don’t give me that, Kaede. I’m just- I guess I’ve been thinking about it.”

“Is it because you don’t have your powers anymore. Because you know you’re still doing well, right?”

“It’s not that, really... just. I don’t know.”

“You don’t want to be a hero any more?”

“I still want to, of course but…” He took a deep breath and tried to quantify all his thoughts, _all_ the thoughts that had been swirling around his head. “I want to continue for Tomoe, for myself, but…”

“But?”

He glanced back to where Barnaby was. “It’s not even about being a burden, just. I don’t know when to stop.”

“It sounds like you need to talk with your partner, Daddy,” Kaede said sternly before giving him a slap in the back. “So why don’t you get that sorted out? I’m going to go over there and hang out with Pao Lin and Karina instead.”

Before Kotetsu could say anything, Kaede was skipping away to where the girls were huddled together on one table. “Not even giving me a word edgewise. Growing up just like her mom,” he mumbled before wandering towards where Barnaby was.

“Talk. Right. That’s something we can do, right?” Kotetsu told himself as he approached. And talk he did, except he ended up talking about work instead and the weather, and the cake, and then Antonio, who was already drunk, was offering him drinks and together they were egging Keith on to drink _more-_

And talk most certainly did not happen.

 

***

 

When Kotetsu came to, it didn’t take long for him to figure out that he was on Barnaby’s bed. By this time, he was well-acquainted with Barnaby’s ceiling and the minimalistic design of his room.

“You really let go, huh?” Bunny murmured, coming up beside him with a glass of water in hand to hand to Kotetsu.

Slowly, Kotetsu got up. His head was throbbing – that was going to be one hell of a hangover in the morning – and he felt all sorts of sluggish. He smiled as he took the glass from Barnaby’s hands and that was when he noticed Barnaby’s other hand was holding a glass of wine.

“Can’t turn down offered drinks- ss’rude,” he mumbled, before pointing to the glass flute in Barnaby’s other hand. “Late night drinking, huh?”

“Didn’t drink earlier. Figured I might have to drive you back. And if you’re wondering about Kaede- I didn’t have to. Nathan had her chauffeured home.”

“Good for Nathan.”

As soon as Barnaby had handed Kotetsu the glass of water, he went on to lean on the wall beside the bed. There was a slight pause there, Kotetsu noticed, as if he was remembering something. “Something on your mind, Kotetsu?”

“Hmm… “ Kotetsu hummed before taking taking a gulp of water. He wondered if he’d have the guts to say it. Kaede had suggested he talk to his partner – that much he remembered before he started drinking with Antonio and the others.

“I’ve been thinking of retiring, Bunny,” he admitted after a long drawn out sigh.

He heard Barnaby’s sharp breath. “Is it- you don’t think you’re being a burden, are you? Because you’re not, Kotetsu. I don’t care if you don’t have any powers anymore. You’re still my partner. Will be my partner no matter what.”

Kotetsu had to laugh a little at Barnaby’s words, recognizing the earnest feelings in them. Years ago, Barnaby wouldn’t have said that, it was touching whenever he looked back to how they were before. “I know that, Bunny. Don’t worry. It’s not you-“

“You’re not using a break up line on me, are you?” Barnaby narrowed his eyes at him.

“It’s me,” Kotetsu finished anyway. “I’ve been thinking, as much as I want to… there’s no way this body can hold up, you know?”

“We’ll improve the suits…”

“I know you and Saitou keep on improving the suits. I’m grateful. But I don’t know if I’m … overstaying? S-something like that.” The words were hard to find, his mind was still slightly foggy. He knew, sort of, what to say though. “If I’m pushing my luck and used up all my warning flags.”

“Worried you’ll go out in a blaze of glory,” Barnaby murmured quietly. “I know that.”

“Bunny?”

“What I mean is, I think I know what you’re worried about, Kotetsu,” Barnaby said. “I want to be your partner for as long as I can. But I also don’t want you to get hurt. I don’t think you’ve gotten weaker without you powers but I know with this job, more is better at the end of the day.”

“Ah…. “Kotetsu had to smile. They were probably thinking of the same things, just not connecting verbally, again.  “I guess I really should’ve talked to you about this sooner.”

“Old habits die hard… huh?”

“Damn right… I’m just thinking, anyway. I don’t know if I want to yet but, my time limit’s probably, really, coming up real soon.”

“I’ll support you, whatever you choose.”

“Thanks. What about you? What are you going to do, Bunny?”

“I’ll probably retire too.”

It took Kotetsu a few moments to process that. “What!?”

“Don’t be so surprised. You know the only reason I’m still in this business is you. All I wanted back then was to find out who killed my parents. If I didn’t have you around, I might’ve found something else to do.”

“Huh.” Those were big words coming out of Barnaby’s mouth. Kotetsu didn’t know if it was the alcohol or what but he felt his cheeks warm a bit. “That’s… kind of a shame. You’re in the prime of your life, Bunny! I kind of feel guilty now…”

“Don’t be. Besides, I like working with Saitou part time. I feel like I can learn a bit more about my parents by exploring their research. The pay’s good too.”

“You guys have really been doing good work,” Kotetsu acknowledged. “I’m happy for you. I guess, I can rest easy knowing whenever I retire, you’re going to be okay.”

“Mmm.” Barnaby said. “The question is; will you be okay if _you_ retire? What are you going to do?”

Kotetsu sighed. The question he never bothered to ask himself. “Well- I guess there’s the family business back home. That was what I was doing back when I first retired. Might stay here for a bit and do some odd jobs until Kaede graduates, though.”

“Oh,” Barnaby said before taking a drink of his glass.

“Is that an ‘Oh, is that so?’ or an ‘Oh, Kotetsu doesn’t know what he’s doing’ Oh?” Kotetsu asked, pointing an accusing finger at Barnaby.

Barnaby scoffed. “It was just that. An ‘oh’. Don’t read into it too much, Kotetsu.”

“Well, sorry I don’t have it all planned out… yet. Honestly didn’t want to think about it for the longest time. I think, maybe, being a hero is all I knew because that was how I dealt after… you know, Tomoe… too.” Kotetsu took a deep breath. “But I’m going to be thinking about that now… I guess.”

“If you need help, I’m sure I can find a better job than being a taxi driver. You’re lousy with directions, old man.”

Kotetsu sniffed. “I’ll have you know I was a pretty good taxi driver.”

“Mmm mm. The offer still stands.”

They talked about about other things after that: Kaede’s ice-skating, work, the party. But when the conversation ran its course. Kotetsu decided to go home after all. He was no stranger to crashing at Barnaby’s from time to time, but tonight didn’t seem like the kind of night for that. There was a lot to think about and honestly, he wasn’t sure he was going to be able to do that while intruding at Barnaby’s loft.

Just as he was about to leave, though. Barnaby called after him.

“Kotetsu.” Barnaby waited until he had turned back around before continuing. “You’ll tell me, won’t you. When you decide.”

Kotetsu nodded. “You’ll be the first to know… next to Kaede, anyway. I’ll make sure to tell you this time, Bunny. Don’t worry.”

“I won’t worry. I trust you, Kotetsu.”   Barnaby offered him a smile to get the point across and Kotetsu couldn’t help but smile back.

Entering his apartment, the first thing Kotetsu spotted was his daughter curled up on the sofa in front of the TV. He smiled at the sight and briefly wondered if his daughter was waiting for him… or taking advantage of his absence. He wasn’t strict about curfews but it was definitely way past the normal bedtime.

For a moment, he wondered if he should try and carry his daughter back to her bed. She was definitely bigger now and without his powers, that wasn’t as smooth as it would’ve been in the past. He settled for grabbing some blankets from her bed to drape on her.

When he’d done that, he padded over to where the TV was so he could switch it off.

“Daddy?” Kaede asked as she sat up, rubbing her eyes. “Didn’t stay with Barnaby?”

“Nope. I wasn’t _that_ drunk.”

Kaede yawned. “Uh huh. You don’t usually have to be drunk to stay at Barnaby’s…”

“Can’t I decide I want to spend the night with my darling daughter instead?” Kotetsu deflects.

Kaede snorted.

“I’m hurt… ! And here I was, excited to come home…”

“Yeah yeah. Like I believe that.” Kaede playfully stuck her tongue out at him.

He stuck his tongue out too before finally switching the TV off for real.

“So… how did it go?” Kaede drew her legs back and rested her head on her knees. “With Barnaby?”

“Is that why you stayed up, so you could ask?”

“I had feeling you’d come home… and if you didn’t, I was going to watch a whole season of Boys over Heroes. It’s on Sternflix right now!”

Kotetsu made a face at the mention of the show but decided not to comment on it. Karina had told him not to say anything about a girl’s shows if he wanted peace in the house. He was abiding by that advice.

“Well, I talked with Bunny and… he’s okay about it. It went a lot easier than I thought it would. He really knows me… I mean, even before I said it, I guess he had me figured out.”

“Mmhmm…”

“So, I guess I’m thinking about it seriously now. It’s tough,” Kotetsu wanted to tell her all about Tomoe and how that was one of her last requests. For him to continue to be a Hero no matter what. “But it’ll be fine. Bunny and I will figure it out.”

He posed a little, to show how confident he was everything would work itself out. Kaede yawned and then hummed in agreement again.

“So that’s okay… but what about _you two_?” Kaede asked, emphasizing those last two words.

“Us two..?” Kotetsu pointed at himself.

“You know… the two of you. Barnaby and you.”

“Barnaby…. And me?” He tilted his head sideways, confused. “Didn’t I just go over that earlier?”

Kaede heaved a big sigh. “Alright, let’s do this.  You do know it’s okay if you want to date again, right?”  

“Date?”  Kotetsu shifted uncomfortably and found his eyes darting to the remote control. “Papa doesn’t know what you’re talking about, Kaede _-chan_. Is this because I’m planning on retiring? Is that what this is it about?”

“Just in general.”

“….Right. But-… Kaede, I never even thought about that!”

“Mmm mm. _Right._ But maybe you _should_?”

“I… should?” Kotetsu put on his best innocent face. Though, to be fair, he really didn’t know what his daughter was getting at.

“ _Daddy._ You know, you really can be a pain. You know what I’m talking about.”

“I… do?”

Kaede groaned.“ _You know_ what I’m talking about. You know— Buh-ny?” She enunciated each syllable with exaggeration, as if Kotetsu wouldn’t get it if she didn’t.

“Bu- bunneh?” Kotetsu followed dumbly. Slowly, the piece clicked into place. “Oh.” _That was what she meant._ Suddenly it made sense that she had asked about _the two of them_.

“Yeah, Bunny!”

It was probably because Kaede rarely, if at all, called his partner by his nickname that  it had finally clicked. But just to be safe, he asked anyway: “What about Bunny?”

“Daddy, why are you so difficult? What I’ve been trying to ask is… when are the two of you finally dating!” She rolled her eyes. “I’ve been wondering. _We’ve_ been wondering even though everyone’s too adult-like and proper to butt their heads into your stupid matter. I’ve told them you won’t get it unless we beat it into your head.”

“Whoa, why so violent? – and Bunny and me, dating? Why even? We’re-“

“Partners. Yeah, I know. Partners who spend Valentine’s, Christmas, and every holiday together at his penthouse drinking champagne while you watch over Stern Bild.”

“I feel so attacked right now, Kaede- that’s- partners just do that!”

Kaede shook her head at her dad. “ _Dad_ , you did those with my mom…. Didn’t you?”

“Well… yeah.”

“And -?”

“And… we’re partners?”   Kotetsu said lamely.

“You’re practically dating, daddy. You care for each other. You think about what’s best for the other person and you practically… read each other’s minds.”

Kotetsu narrows his eyes. “Partners….do that?”

“ _Daddy_ ,” Kaede groaned. She rolled her eyes again and then sighed. “Okay. Let’s put it this way. I think he likes you.”

“Of course, he does! He wouldn’t put up with me otherwise!” Kaede levelled an unimpressed stare at him.

“No, I mean _he likes you_. As in wants to date you. Get into your pants. Bed you-“

“Whoa, whoa-… Bunny?” Kotetsu couldn’t imagine it. He was handsome, _very_ handsome, but the idea of Barnaby being attracted to him that way was so farfetched. “Honey, besides me, Bunny has a lot more options. Dating an old man like me- I don’t think that’s something he’d be into, really.”

“So…” Kaede challenged, “what’s he into?”

Oh, Kaede was good. Kotetsu scratched his head and thought back. Maybe there had been  times when he talked about it in an interview? It was hard to think with his head buzzing with alcohol. It wasn’t something they talked about, for sure, and by now he had a good sense of what Barnaby liked when it came to everything else. “…. G-girls?”

“See, you don’t know.”

“It’s just never come up,” Kotetsu said defensively. “Besides, if Bunny has someone he’d tell me-“

“He wouldn’t tell you if it was you.”

“Well,” Kotetsu lifted a finger to argue and then put it down when he realized he didn’t have anything. “You’re not wrong… but I still think, if it was Bunny… it just wouldn’t be me, you know?”

“You’re his partner, you said it yourself.” Kaede points out.

“A partner’s different… besides, I mean all this time I’ve kind of been a burden, you know? Dragging him down a bit- not having any powers… he could’ve been King of Heroes last season if we won more points, for example. Or maybe not that because we talked about that earlier-  just. I just know that if there’s someone he likes it’s gotta be someone better- someone more like him? Put together?”

Kotetsu made useless shapes with his hands as if to try and form the silhouette of Barnaby’s perfect person. “Right?”

“What I think is that you’re going to hurt someone thinking like that,” Kaede said softly. She didn’t let the sombre tone settle, though, and continued animatedly:  “There’s UST so thick some NEXT out there could probably slice it up with a knife! Daddy… can’t you see?”

Kotetsu didn’t know what to say that and thankfully, Kaede was nice enough to shift the subject a bit. “If you retire, he’s retiring too, right?”

Dating, love, and all those abstract thoughts he wasn’t man enough to face aside, Kotetsu answered honestly. “Yeah. Said he’d like to go into robotics like his parents.”

“…and you’re going to go home and take care of grandma, right?"

“Uh huh, To help your uncle with the business. That’s always been the plan when I retire.”

Kaede sniffed and curled back onto the sofa, turning the blanket into a virtual cocoon around her. Her voice was muffled when she spoke again from behind the blanket. “Just think about it, daddy? I don’t want anyone getting hurt. Not you or Barnaby.”

“I will,” Kotetsu answered honestly, raising a hand to give Kaede a pat on her head. She scrunched up her nose but doesn’t quite protest and Kotetsu couldn’t help but smile as he watched her close her eyes to go back to sleep.

“Ah… I forgot to tell her to go back to her room,” Kotetsu groaned, remembering just as he was entering his room.  It was one of those moments when he realized just how much bigger his daughter was. A long time ago, back when Tomoe was alive, he would carry Kaede back to her bed. “She was waiting for her daddy, Kotetsu,” Tomoe would tell him when he came home late.

Kaede was grown now, a young woman who was capable of making her own decisions. Decisions like choosing where to sleep without her daddy intervening. Decisions like telling her dad what she exactly thought about things.

Maybe, thinking about it now, he wouldn’t mind Bunny in that context; someone who was someone more than a partner. He wasn’t lying when he said he couldn’t see it, though. Someone like Barnaby… the world had so much to offer for him, so much more than what Kotetsu could. But what if things were as Kaede saw it? What if Barnaby could be attracted to him?

The thought made him feel strange, as if just entertaining it was dangerous. He put a hand on his chest, wondered if that was his heart beating just a bit faster. ‘ _Don’t get your hopes up…. Don’t think about it, Kotetsu!’_   

That night he dreamt about riding along Stern Bild with Bunny on their motorbike. There was sense of satisfaction there, the feeling that he could go on forever like that. And then they were stopping and Barnaby was telling him this was his stop.

He got off, because apparently that was what he wanted to do in the dream.  And when he looked around, realized that Barnaby had dropped him off back at his house in Oriental Town.  When he turned to look back at Barnaby, both his partner and their motorbike was gone without a trace.

“Are you sure this is okay, Kotetsu?” someone asked.

Turning around, he found Tomoe standing behind him. “Is it okay to let him go?”

He looked towards the empty road. “It has to end somewhere. He can’t stay with me, right?”

“I want you to be happy.”

He had a distinct sense that he wanted to tell her that he _was_ happy but then he was awake. Tomoe was gone.  And there was a strange sense of sadness weighing in his chest.

He wasn’t sure what to make of it all.

 

 


	2. Barnaby

 

 

At thirty-one, Barnaby was at the prime of his life. He was a successful Hero with multiple records under his belt, and one of Stern Bild’s most eligible bachelors. His career didn’t look like it was winding down anytime soon, either. Those weren’t things he cared for much, however. At the moment, what he did care for and what was on the forefront of his mind were the following: His partner’s powers were completely gone and his partner was overcompensating for the fact. And his partner was thinking of retiring soon.

That partner was Kotetsu Kaburagi, his closest friend, and the person who taught him how to carry on after all that had happened in his life.

To be completely honest, despite his calm words when Kotetsu brought the topic up with him properly, Barnaby didn’t know what to do. He knew, just like he’d told Kotetsu, that he’d support him no matter what he chose. If he chose to continue, Barnaby would be there as his partner no matter way. If he chose to retire, Barnaby supported that too.

But if, or rather, _when_ Kotetsu retired, Barnaby didn’t really know what would happen, especially if Kotetsu meant to go back to his hometown.

He didn’t know if their friendship could survive that, going from spending most of their time together to contacting each other who knew when. He also didn’t know if _he’d_ be satisfied with whatever their friendship would devolve to.

It was silly. Barnaby knew it. He hated being so conflicted about it when all he wanted to do was support Kotetsu, but here he was feeling like he was constantly holding his breath, waiting for the pin to drop.

It was because of these thoughts that Barnaby found himself caught off guard during a radio show. He was usually vigilant about answering his questions without missing a beat. Delay meant hesitation, a moment of vulnerability. And yet there he was, thinking about Kotetsu just as the host snuck in a personal question.

“So, Barnaby, tell us what your special person would be like? A lot of our female – and some male – viewers are dying to hear that, you know?”

It was a short moment but it was definitely long enough to warrant Kotetsu lightly tapping him underneath the table with a quiet “Oi, Bunny…”

“Ah-“  He flashed a smile automatically, hoping none of the people in the studio had noticed that brief space-out. He wished he’d seen it coming and brushed it off, but the crucial time for that was past. “I suppose it doesn’t really matter what they’re like-“ he couldn’t help but think about Kotetsu who was a klutz, who had the bad habit of hiding things from the people he cared for, who liked to play dumb, “-as long as they care for me and understand me. I’m afraid I can’t say anything more than that.”  

“Can’t say because you’ve got someone in your mind already?” the host eagerly latched on, and Barnaby silently cursed himself for not preventing that outcome.

He smiled, glad it wasn’t a TV show they were on right now. “Can’t say because I haven’t really thought about it, Mr. Blue,” he clarified, throwing in a little laugh to play up his innocence on the subject.

It worked, or at least the host backed down, settling for safer topics relevant to their work at Hero TV and ongoing projects. Barnaby was miffed, though, and slightly annoyed. He said as much to Kotetsu as soon as they were driving back to the office.

“That wasn't on the interview packet,” he murmured, and hoped he didn't sound like a kid complaining about it.

“Ah? It wasn't?! I didn't notice …”

“You never did read those… “

“But it's okay, isn't it? It wasn't a bad question… I mean every one's curious about it….” Including me, Barnaby thought he'd heard Kotetsu say in his mind. He wouldn't have minded it from Kotetsu, though. That was something he expected from his partner.

“It's personal,” Barnaby admitted, and then sighed. “I don't like being surprised by questions like that.”

“Oh. Then. I'm sorry …”

“What are you apologizing for? It wasn't you that asked.”

Kotetsu made a surprised face and then laughed, “Ah…. Right right. Guess… I'll have to watch out for you when you're spacing out during an interview.”

Barnaby frowned. “I was not spacing out, Kotetsu.”

“Sure you were,” Kotetsu bumped against him and then reenacted the tap he had done earlier. “You weren't looking ahead forlorn and I didn't have to remind you were in the middle of an interview!”

Barnaby groaned.

“It's okay, totally okay,” Kotetsu winked. “You can rely on this veteran to watch out for you."

Barnaby rolled his eyes. “Right, right. Now don't you have a recital to go to?”

“Ah… right. You sure you don't wanna go?”

“I have something on my schedule …“ Barnaby explained trying to sound reluctant about the whole matter. That something was a promotional appointment without Kotetsu. Just the fact that they were leaving Kotetsu out left a sour taste in his mouth but at least Kotetsu wasn't the least bit fazed by it.  “More time for Kaede, Bunny, is always great. Don't feel bad for me,” he'd said when Barnaby voiced his grievance about that particular job.

“I'll catch up with you guys later. If that's okay?”

“You know Kaede will love it. You're still her favorite, after all.”

Barnaby scoffed. “After you, you mean.”

Kotetsu laughed. “Well, you're my favorite too so there. Ciao, Bunny! See you later!”

Kotetsu was gone just like that, hurrying away, one hand on his hat. Barnaby could have laughed at him – maybe take off the hat, Kotetsu – if he weren't trying not to look flustered by the comment.

Naturally, the session took far longer than it was supposed to and each second Barnaby could feel his smile drawing tighter and tighter. He prided himself on his professionalism and charmed his way through, but there was not a moment he didn't think about being elsewhere, in particular, with Kotetsu and Kaede.

The recital was done by the time Barnaby made it out of the job, much to his chagrin, but at least he could still grab something to eat with them he supposed. There was some paperwork he needed to go over with Lloyds first back at the office but after that…..

After that he was going to invite Kotetsu and Kaede to eat out. He made up his mind.

He was just on his way out of the building when he ran into Nathan.

“Hi, Handsome. In a hurry?” Nathan greeted.

“...Yes,” he answered, not at all meaning to sound curt when he did.

“No time to even chat for a bit?” Nathan looked disappointed. Barnaby was certain he was playing it up. He sighed anyway and turned to Nathan properly. Making time for friends was important.

“.... Is there something wrong?” he asked, trying to sound less hurried and more concerned.

“Oh, nothing at all. I'm wonderful as always, Handsome, but thanks for asking.”

“But….?”

“Well…. A little birdie told me you were off today. At your radio interview with Mr. Blue.”

“Kotetsu… did?”

Nathan laughed. “Oh no, honey.  Don't you wish he did?” Barnaby tried not to react to that. "Helios Energy is one of Blue's sponsors so perhaps it's not a case of a little birdie telling me but me asking the birdie nicely?”

“I don't know why they would think that.”

“Spacing out, weren't you? Not the first time it's happened too. Handsome, is something up?”

“Nothing is 'up’, Nathan. I don't know what you're talking about.”

“Your answer to that question was ... lacking its usual finesse too. You've always been on top of those kind of questions, unscripted or no. _Especially_ when they're sprung on you.”

On reflex, Barnaby put on his best media smile. “Looks like you've been following my interviews lately. I think I should ask you too if something's up.”

“Aah… why so hostile, Handsome?” Nathan pouted and Barnaby almost felt bad about using that smile on him. “I'm just concerned!” And then Nathan was using a purposefully deeper voice. “Especially when it looks like it started happening after our dear Tiger's birthday.”

Barnaby flinched. It was as big a bulls-eye he could have given to Nathan.

“Something happened with Tiger?”

He inwardly grumbled. _If only something had happened._

“Nothing happened, Nathan. Please don't think about things like that between Kotetsu and me.” Barnaby smiled thinly.

Nathan studied him for a moment, humming to himself.

“Can I go now, Nathan?”

“Well… I suppose I can't keep you, Handsome. But-”

Barnaby's eyebrow twitched. He was had just turn around and, meaning to head out to meet with Kotetsu and Kaede.

“You should probably keep an eye out,” _wink_ , “For your chance to win some points, if you know what I mean.”

“What?”

Nathan chuckled before blowing him a kiss and sashaying away. “See you, Handsome.”

Barnaby stood there for a few moments, dumbfounded, as he watched Nathan disappear into the building. _Win some points_? Clearly, Nathan hadn’t meant Hero points. He gave one last look in the direction Nathan had disappeared in before whipping out his cellphone. Whatever Nathan was up to, it wasn’t his problem.

He pressed the speed dial button for Kotetsu’s number and waited a few moments. Soon enough, Kotetsu’s warm, welcoming voice sounded through the phone speaker, and whatever tension Barnaby had easily dissolved.

“Hey, Barnaby! We were waiting for you to call. I told Kaede you were probably gonna be late – We’re still near the skate stadium. Care to drop by, hotshot?”

“You’re not even going to ask if I’m done with my job already,” Barnaby sniped back a little, just out of habit. He was smiling, though, and was certain it carried through his voice.

“You wouldn’t be calling if you weren’t, Bunny. So, coming or not?”

“Of course.  Just tell me where you are.”

It didn’t take long for Barnaby to make it out to where Kotetsu was. The ice skating stadium had a little refreshment court outside that served a variety of snacks like crepes, pretzels and ice cream. Kaede had wanted some snacks to celebrate after going weeks without to be in top form for the recital. And when he arrived, he found that the others had made it before him. Namely, Karina and Pao Lin.

The former regarded him with smile, though Barnaby couldn’t help but feeill a bit prickly. It was all friendly rivalry, however.

A friendly rivalry between two people in love with Kotetsu.

 

***

 

Barnaby had not always been in tune with his feelings for Kotetsu. For a long time, he’d gone along with Kotetsu’s flow, satisfied with their partnership and Kotetsu’s definition of it. He was well aware, now, how intimate their partnership was compared to the other partnerships he’d witnessed around him. But before, he hadn’t really known, much less cared about defining their relationship.

Kotetsu was his first real friend and closest friend. He had had other things to worry about in the wake of Maverick’s fall too, leaving him with no time to really contemplate their relationship. When he returned, all he knew was that he’d missed the camaraderie, missed Kotetsu and the excitement of living the life of a Hero.

And then Blue Rose graduated from high school and began insisting that Kotetsu call her by her real name. Evolving from a pretty little high-schooler outside her Blue Rose persona to a grown woman studying the entertainment business at Stern Bild university. Whether or not Kotetsu noticed Karina's feelings was up in the air, but Barnaby certainly began to notice.  

Somewhere along the line, Barnaby awakened to his own realization: that he wanted more from his partnership with Kotetsu. That he wasn’t going to let Karina win Kotetsu’s heart anytime soon. And that an even bigger spectre loomed over the two of them, one that held a bigger influence on Kotetsu’s heart: Tomoe.

After the initial rivalry, which included active verbal barbs slung at each other behind Kotetsu and Kaede’s backs and outside of their earshots, Barnaby and Karina eventually settled into a sort of truce.

“I won’t sabotage you if you don’t sabotage me,” Karina offered, extending out a well-manicured hand one day.

“Who’s sabotaging who?” Barnaby said, but smiled and took her hand anyway to shake.

 

***

 

There were more questions about Barnaby's love life, or lack thereof, in tonight’s interview. This time, however, he came prepared and focused. When the personal question began, he smiled and laughed modestly to shake them off. And when they grew too eager, he used the next trick up his sleeve; deflection. Luckily for him, his partner for the interview tonight was an equally interesting person: Blue Rose, Stern Billd's current most eligible bachelorette. The media was eager to lap up anything remotely romantic out of her hands.  Her question was simple: What kind of person did she want to be in a relationship with? It was the kind of question Barnaby always sidestepped, but to his surprise (and curiosity), she answered obligingly.

“The person I've got in mind isn't very reliable. The kind I have to order around to make sure they don’t get in trouble,” she said, smiling, and no doubt piquing the interest of countless hopeless individuals.

“Who doesn't get _or want_ to be ordered around by you, Blue Rose?”

“Barnaby,” she answered readily, while Barnaby had to smile.

“Does that mean I'm reliable?” Barnaby offered, riding along with the tone Blue Rose set.

“Don't dash our shipping dreams so soon, Barnaby!” the host berated. “But getting back to the topic, should we be worried now that you've got someone in mind?”

Blue Rose smiled enigmatically, and with a wink, said: “I suppose that’s something everyone will have to see.”

Later, on their way out of the studio, Barnaby quietly quizzed Blue Rose about her answers.

“Was that alright to say? You're an idol, aren't you?”

“Worry about your own career, Barnaby,” Karina answered, waving her hands at Barnaby dismissively. “But if you have to know,I have my manager's blessing. I'm aging out of the idol bracket and we're working on making my brand more mature.”

“Is that so?”

“Believe what you will. Like I said, it’s my career…. “ Karina said, sounding irritated.  She sighed and then looked to either end of the hallway they were at. “This is between you and me…. But I'm thinking of confessing to Tiger.”

Barnaby’s eyebrows twitched. He stared at Karina. “What?”

“Will you let me?” Karina stared right back at Barnaby and when the latter didn’t answer, smiled. “I guess that's a no?”

“I didn't say anything and you don't need my permission for that.” Barnaby looked away. “But why?”

He heard Karina sigh. “Nothing. Maybe… I think he's planning to retire soon. Maybe I don't want to lose my chance?”

Between the two of them, Karina had a better chance of maintaining contact with Kotetsu when he moved to Oriental Town. As close as he’d gotten to know Kaede, Blue Rose was more Kaede’s best friend than he was. He could easily see Karina being invited to Oriental Town and it not being out of place.  If he went, he was going to stick out like a sore thumb and there’d be questions about _why_ he was there. He was certain ‘visiting my partner’ wasn’t going to cut it if he was on his lonesome.

“He has Tomoe,” Barnaby said simply. He hadn't felt the need to tell Karina about her, he was certain the ever-present ring on Kotetsu's hand was enough to broadcast that part.

“Maybe I want to give it a shot?” Karina said with a laugh, as if Barnaby even bringing it up was irrelevant.

Barnaby decided to put his foot down. “Right now? You're going to get rejected.”

Karina stopped walking and leaned against the nearest wall. “How would you know?” she snapped at him.  But then she probably realized that between the two of them, _he_ knew Kotetsu better.  She gave him a sad look: “Would you be satisfied never knowing? Never trying, Barnaby? What if Tiger’s never ‘ready’ like you want him to be?”

“He's my partner.”

“And I'm just a coworker. I'm not satisfied,” Karina muttered. She took a deep breath and offered him a paper-thin smile. “I’m going ahead. I’ve got an exam tomorrow. See you around, Barnaby.”

The next few days, Barnaby felt like he was holding his breath, knowing Karina could, at any moment, approach Kotetsu for what she’d planned. He wasn’t planning to confess anytime soon, himself, not with Kotetsu the way he was, holding onto the memory of his beloved wife in all aspects of his life. But what if Karina had it right?

He had a few more shoots with Karina spread out in the next few weeks and Barnaby tried to look for an opening to bring up the topic. But Karina dodged his attempts and effectively made Kotetsu a non-topic between them. As more days passed, which then stretched to weeks, he was almost ready to believe Karina had lost her nerve.

_It's for the best._

Just as he was ready to relax and forget Karina had ever mentioned the matter, Barnaby got a call from his partner, asking to borrow his place for a night of drinking.

Kotetsu showed up some time later with beer and _karaage_ , apologetic about wanting to crash the place.

“Can't really get drunk around Kaede. Sorry for intruding. I bought chicken, at least?” he said, lifting the carton box and shaking it enticingly.

“I guess that’s a satisfactory offering. I'll pass on the beer though.” Barnaby said before going for the wine in his kitchen.

Of the reason for his impromptu visit, Kotetsu said nothing at first, opting to talk about work, and the weather or Kaede instead all the while nursing his can of beer. Kotetsu dropping in wasn’t anything out of the ordinary, and when they felt like it, they skipped the bars and shared a few drinks in here or at Kotetsu’s apartment. With Kaede there now, naturally, the drinking happened more often than not at Barnaby’s place.

Barnaby obliged Kotetsu, wine glass in hand. He wondered if he’d assumed wrong, or if he was worrying about nothing. Regardless, he was careful not to drink much as he listened to Kotetsu talk in -between his drinks.

Before long Kotetsu was slumped on the floor beside his chair – the only chair, really, in Barnaby's room.  

“Had enough to drink?” Barnaby said as he approached, ready to haul Kotetsu to his bed.  Kaede once asked him what they really did when her dad crashed his house, specifically, where his dad slept because Barnaby had a grand total of one bed and no sofa whatsoever. His answer at that time was that he left Kotetsu on the floor. The truth was that, sometimes, Barnaby hauled him off to his bed while he slept on the only chair in his living area.

“Hey Bunny, sorry for… calling you here,” Kotetsu murmured. “I think...I forgot my wallet? Good thing this bar has a tab….”

“Did you forget you’re in my house?” Barnaby reminded him. “Let’s get you up. “

“Ah… right, forgot ‘bout that,” Kotetsu smiled apologetically at Barnaby before letting himself be helped up and led him to Barnaby’s room. “Sorry to come here…. Just felt…. Bad.”

“Don’t say sorry,” Barnaby carefully dropped Kotetsu onto his bed. “Sleep it off.”

Kotetsu wasn’t listening though, it seemed. He’d rolled on his back and covered his eyes with his arms. ““I don't know what to do. I should have noticed it…”

Barnaby felt a sense of trepidation.

“Blue Rose…. Karina. She confessed to me.”

Two thoughts crossed in Barnaby’s mind at that moment: ‘ _Ah, there it is.’,_ and ‘ _I know’._ He sat at edge, beside Kotetsu. “I see. If you're drinking now, I take it, it didn't go well.”

“I should have noticed-... I think I did. But…. I might have hurt her. Kaede was right. I _am_ going to hurt someone.”

“You can't help it if you don't love her.”

“She's like a daughter to me… I can't exactly-”

Barnaby frowned, sincerely hoping he hadn’t said that to Karina's face. Rival or no, it was a hard pill to swallow knowing your loved one could never look at you in that way to begin with.

It made his heart clench a little. What would Kotetsu say about him?

_‘I could never look at you that way. You're my partner. Bunny I'm sorry if I kept your hopes up.’_

Barnaby shoved those thoughts down and carefully kept his feelings in check.

“I understand. You were honest. That’s fine,” Barnaby said. “I’m sure Karina will be able to move on. She’s young-”

“You’re young too….”

Barnaby tensed and for a moment he was afraid of being caught. He turned his head to look at his partner only to find him staring back at him. Those earnest eyes seemed to pin him down.

“I….” Kotetsu was saying.

Barnaby barely registered the hand gripping his arm and pulling him downwards. Barely noticed how close his partner's face was getting…

“Your eyelashes are really long… have I…. said that?”

_You have._ Barnaby thought idly before instinct kicked in and he was pulling Kotetsu closer, one hand on Kotetsu's face to guide him.

‘ _You said you'd wait,’_ a voice that sounded much like Karina said at the back of his head. ‘ _You liar.’_

_'Maybe I'm not satisfied either.’_

He closed his eyes and for a few precious moments the world seemed to melt away.

A simple kiss, a taste of Kotetsu- that was enough. He could live with that. He was already thinking of how he'd explain the kiss - _we're drunk -_ and gearing to move away when Kotetsu pulled him back to deepen the kiss.

It took Barnaby by surprise, but that gave way to him kissing back with the same raw fervour Kotetsu seemed to have at that moment. Kotetsu had probably kissed more times than he had, but he certainly knew how to too.

Their position was awkward, with Barnaby twisting his body to face Kotetsu, so he remedied that, turning fully and climbing onto the bed so he could have better access and pull Kotetsu even closer to him.

The kiss seemed to last far longer than the minutes it must have taken. And then Barnaby's fingers were brushing across the hard cold metal of Kotetsu's wedding ring and the spell over them seemed to break.

Breaking away, they stared at each other for a few long moments of what Barnaby surmised was mortification.

Kotetsu broke that stillness between them by pushing Barnaby away. “S-sorry. Bunny—.... I …” Kotetsu jumped off the bed, suddenly sober. “I didn't mean to. I'm sorry…”

Barnaby barely heard it all. He felt the world grow dimmer around him.

_Of course it was a mistake._

“It's alright,” Barnaby said, his voice cold like steel. It had to be. If he didn’t will for it to be so, his voice would waver and reveal how much it hurt to be rejected so physically. “If you're done, though. I need to sleep.”

“R-right…” Kotetsu mumbled before bowing his head. “Yeah… that. I guess I'm gonna go… right. Gotta sleep.” Kotetsu's voice seemed to get smaller when he continued, “S-see you at work… tomorrow.”

He waited until he was certain Kotetsu was completely gone. Then he removed his glasses, buried his face in his hand, and cried.

 

 

 


	3. Kotetsu

 

 

Kotetsu had royally screwed up. That was his first thought when he finally woke up in a mess of limbs on his sofa. His head was pounding and he sincerely hoped nobody was thinking about robbing a bank, or kidnapping, or blowing up some building today. He was definitely not in the mood for it, physically or emotionally. The events from last night were terrifyingly fresh in his mind too and that- …. That definitely needed sorting out.

He sat up, groaning as he did so, and leaned back, tilting his head backwards. That seemed to help the pressure a bit and with that pain alleviated a bit, he was able to think just a little bit.

It was still a bit difficult to wrap his mind around it; what had happened was a bit much for the span of twenty-four hours.  

Somehow, _out of the blue_ , Karina had decided to ask him out. And then, when he decided to drink _that_ away with his partner, he ended up making out with him?

That was on him, probably. Dealing with his problems with alcohol was something he really needed to get over at some point. Who told him to get so close to Barnaby’s face anyway? So what if his eyelashes always looked so good you wanted to reach and touch them?

So Barnaby had kissed first, but he was drunk. They were both drunk. And he was certain any hot-blooded young man’s instinct would push for them to kiss any face close to them. He’d done that in the past, for sure.

The problem was on him, absolutely on him, for stupidly pulling Barnaby closer and sticking his tongue in like an idiot. For enjoying it and wanting more and absolutely taking advantage of Barnaby who was probably confused by it all.

He buried his face into his hands. Thinking about it made him want to tear his hair off and hide under the sofa all at once. _Of course_ , Barnaby wouldn’t be attracted to an old man like him, not when he could have literally anybody in Stern Bild.

He shook his head and slapped his cheeks with his hands loudly. And then groaned. No matter what he did, the embarrassment remained. All he wanted was to groan and groan until maybe the feeling passed. Which, it probably wouldn’t.

And digging deeper, he knew it probably wasn’t just embarrassment either that kept it in his mind. That kept that sinking feeling deep in his stomach. What if he’d offended Barnaby, somehow? What if that changed things between them?  

His fingers found his wedding ring and began twisting it nervously. ‘ _Tomoe_ . _What do I do?’_

“Geez, daddy, what are you even doing?”

Kotetsu jumped up and, turning around, found Kaede eyeing him suspiciously.

“Er- Good Morning, honey? I’m home? Again?”

“I wasn’t expecting you. Anyway, I’m gonna have breakfast at McGronald’s today so you have to make your own food,” Kaede said plainly. “Weren’t you supposed to be at Barnaby’s?”

“Eh- I…. was. But Papa decided to come home?”

Kaede stopped and then eyed him even more suspiciously.

“Are you two fighting? Is that it?”

“W-what! Us… no?” Kotetsu shook his head rapidly; stabbing pain or no he had to deny that one. “No. Absolutely no. Everything’s fine. Papa just…. Missed his sofa. And his daughter! Of course.”

“The floor sure is unforgiving, huh? Maybe you should ask to be on his bed, instead.”

Kotetsu let out a little laugh at that. What was Barnaby telling his daughter?

“Well, I’m gonna go and grab my breakfast. See you later, daddy! Don’t forget to make up with Barnaby if you got him mad!”

Kotetsu opened his mouth to say something to deny that but Kaede was already skipping out of the apartment. And of course there was his head deciding to feel like it was getting hit by a giant hammer. He groaned as he sat down on the floor, clutching as his head.

Make up with Barnaby? If only that was easy considering his mistake this time.

Fortunately for him, the thoughts of gloom and doom did ease up, the same way his headache turned into a dull thudding at the back of his head. Taking Kaede’s carefree attitude to mind, he decided that _maybe_ she was right. That making up with Barnaby was easy as…. making up with Barnaby.

“All I have to do is explain that we’re just drunk? We’ve been drunk? People kiss when they’re drunk and it means nothing. Hell, I’ve made out with Nathan and Antonio at some point. Maybe even both-” Kotetsu told himself in the mirror, imagining himself talking to Barnaby. “... Maybe not the latter. But, drunk people do stupid things, Bunny!”

He tried to imagine his partner’s response but all that really came to him was Barnaby’s unimpressed look. He figured he’d cut the latter half then- keep his argument to ‘drunk people do stupid things like kiss’ and make it short and simple.

Unfortunately for him, no matter how many revisions and practice Kotetsu attempted to deliver the best ‘I’m sorry I french-kissed you’ speech to his partner, the partner in question made himself scarce.

They definitely saw each other at work, and on the field they worked in tandem together, though maybe not to the same level of efficiency. Barnaby smiled like he always did too when people were around but when there were no other people, Barnaby would coolly brush him off and keep conversation work-related. Even his texts went unanswered.

It was disconcerting and Kotetsu, after a week or two of doing this strange avoidance dance with Barnaby, realized he didn’t know what to do. Letting it pass just didn’t feel like it would fix it either. At least, not unless his definition of fix was Barnaby cutting him out of his life.

He didn’t give up. And though his efforts didn’t exactly help him corner Barnaby long enough to d fix things up with, it did end up with him finding soul willing to listen to his woes. That soul being Nathan who found him loitering outside the hallway in wait of his partner.

“He’s already gone, honey,” Nathan said, crossing his arms. “Took the other exit while you weren’t looking.”

“Oh.” Kotetsu’s shoulders slumped.

Chuckling, Nathan took that as his cue to step in and loop his arms around Kotetsu. “Want to go out to drink with me then? Sounds like you could use a friend tonight.”

For lack of better things to do, Kotetsu agreed. And that was how he found himself binging on Nathan’s generous dime as he explained his tale of woe starting with Karina confessing and then Barnaby and him kissing.

“I don’t know what to do.” Kotetsu sighed as he flopped onto the bar table then folded his arms so he could rest his head on them. “I’ve been trying to talk to Bunny but he’s just… avoiding me. Not even letting me tell him sorry. I didn’t take it seriously when you kissed me- You didn’t take it seriously when _I_ kissed you.”

“Handsome’s not like you and me, plus you’re definitely my-” Nathan waved a hand around and shook his head. “Ah, never mind. Not applicable, Tiger-dear.”

Kotetsu scrunched his eyebrows and swiveled back to face the bar. “Just want ….” he sighed. “To fix this. I miss him.”

“Hoo… “ Nathan edged closer. “Miss him, now?”

“Of course. He’s my partner. Feels-” Kotetsu rubbed the back of his head. “Strange not to have him around. I mean, I get being grossed out by an old man like me.  But at least let me explain!”

“Do you need to be locked up in an elevator together? I can arrange that as well. I’m always happy to do a favor or two for you, you know?”

Kotetsu chuckled. “Thanks, but no.  Having someone to drink with-” he raised his glass to clink glasses with Nathan. “-is a good enough favour for me right now.”

Nathan sighed dreamily. He twisted in his chair and squealed: “Oh, Kotetsu! You rogue! Why can’t we be partners instead? My Fire and your … guts? We’d make a good partnership.”

“Don’t you have someone else in mind already? Besides, I seem to remember you turning _me_ down.”

Nathan lifted a finger to his lips. “Feelings change,” he said playfully.

“Yeah, they do.”  He knew that.

“I know your feelings can’t be helped for the little Rose, but what about Handsome, hmm?”

Kotetsu looked at Nathan, recognizing the meddling and scheming friend that he was, and smiled. “He’s… a partner.”

Just like the old time there were offers to spend the night together, cuddling. It'd been a while since he'd hung out with Nathan so he'd played along before going his own way, taking the transit back to his apartment.

On the way, Nathan’s question lingered. “Just a partner,” he echoed. It was hard to think of anything more. Especially when more meant reaping what he sowed.

Naturally, the strange limbo their relationship was in did eventually affect their work. Interview and work-mandated events were easy to navigate. You didn't become a Hero without a certain level of professionalism and Kotetsu and Barnaby easily pretended nothing was wrong on air and on camera. Out on the field was a different story. Their partnership was built on, well, just being together as much as they had and discussions about what to do in what situation cropped up in everyday life they shared. Plans were made based off tiny little things they said and did around each other. Talking as little as they did, having that strange invisible barrier between them that was part awkwardness and part guilt (on Kotetsu’s part), there was no way they could have the same synchronization. Tension was high and when Sky High ended up making the arrests for some vigilantes they'd been targeting, Barnaby was visibly upset. He held it in, keeping his usual media face on especially when they were questioned about the night’s events. Kotetsu was careful with his words during the short interviews, careful not to lead back to their miscommunication during the mission.  He was successful. but as soon as they’d gotten out of their suits and were back at the headquarters, Barnaby’s patience ran out.

“We could have had him if you were only paying attention!” Barnaby let out as they entered the training room.

“Who said I wasn’t paying attention? I was! It's just-”  Kotetsu reasoned as he trailed after his partner.

“It's just you weren't paying attention,” Barnaby interrupted him, coming to an abrupt halt to face Kotetsu, “You let them out of your sight. If you'd just listened to me and not gone ahead… we could have gotten the points.”

“Wait, wait a minute. What do you mean if I'd listened to you? I told you what I was doing and why–”

“And it was a stupid idea! You don't have any powers anymore, Kotetsu! It wasn't going to work!” Barnaby pointed out, cutting him off again.

Kotetsu’s plan had been simple; he’d asked Barnaby to take the vigilante’s behind while he faced them head on. He was the closest so that made sense. But Barnaby had some plan about leading the vigilante elsewhere and forgoing their current upperhand for a better playing field. It didn’t sit well with Kotetsu - he had the vigilante right in front of him - so he’d gone ahead anyway with his own plan. He’d expected Barnaby to follow his lead anyway, for Barnaby to see his point. But Barnaby didn’t appear behind the vigilante and, in the end, it was Sky High who ended up having an opportunity to steal their points when the vigilante ran from him.

“If we’d tried, if you’d let me do it, it would have worked!”

“That's just reckless! Why couldn’t you just wait and listen to my plan? You wasted our time instead. ”

“And I was telling you, the bad guy was right there… I couldn’t do that!”  Kotetsu insisted again, hoping to get his point across. He was expecting Barnaby to fire back about his plan again, but instead his partner said something else:

“Then why don't you just retire?”

The world seemed to tilt. Kotetsu stepped backwards, feeling as if Barnaby had physically hit him.

At least, Barnaby seemed to realize, with horror, what he'd just said.

“Kotetsu, that's not what I meant-”

“That's more like you, Bunny,” Kotetsu said, and hoped Barnaby didn't think he liked seeing him horrified like that. It was just that for the first time in weeks, Barnaby was actually addressing with something other than cold indifference or hostility.

“And I get it. I'm past my prime and a burden to you.” _I should retire._

“Kotetsu…”

Kotetsu shook his head.  “It's fine, it's fine. I'm just… gonna head out for a bit.” He walked past Barnaby, giving his shoulder a light pat before walking away.

On his way out, he noticed they hadn’t been alone after all with Nathan, Karina and Pao Lin standing in shock at the entrance. He waved at them too, smiling, before making his way to the locker rooms.

He was definitely done for the day and possibly the rest of the week if he could help it.

 

 

 


	4. Barnaby

 

 

Barnaby had screwed up. When Kotetsu had lost his powers, one of the things he had sworn not to do was tell him when to retire. Regardless of how beat up and how outclassed Kotetsu was up against the criminals and straight- up villains they we're going up against, Barnaby made the decision to focus instead on supporting Kotetsu. His dream. The promise he made to his wife.

And there he was breaking his promise to himself. He'd moved, reached a hand out, wanting to stop his partner from walking away.

‘ _ I didn't mean it, Kotetsu,’  _ he wanted to say. His partner's words cut right through him, however. Even if he said it, would it sound like he meant it? Especially with the way he'd been acting?

And so, Kotetsu walked away without Barnaby stopping him.

“That’s so mean, Handsome, and you're not even going after him?”

“... I can't.”

“Can't or won't? That's your partner there! You just told him to  _ retire _ and you can't even have the decency to take it back?” Karina stomped towards him.

“Then why don't you do it?”

It shouldn't have felt satisfying to see Karina's face crumple at the simple question. He knew for a fact that Karina had been playing the avoidance game too. It was a wonder nobody in the media had noticed yet but that probably had to do with Kotetsu having fewer jobs than the two of them in general.

“You jerk!” Karina yelled, before rushing out of the room too. Pao Lin shot him a glowering look before following after her, leaving him and Nathan alone in the training room.

“Are you going to have a word too?” Barnaby asked pensively.

“Who? Me?” Nathan had his hand up to his cheek, feigning surprise. “Heavens, no. Not when you're in no mood to be listening, Handsome. now if you'll excuse me, I have some damage control to do.”

Barnaby said nothing as Nathan left the training room as well, following after the other girls.

The next few days we're rough. Kotetsu didn't show up for work the next day or the day after that. The other Heroes were giving him a wide berth, too. For the first time in many years, his life felt like an empty void of work and coming back to an empty loft again.

“No messages,” Barnaby muttered, checking his phone. It wasn't entirely accurate – there were some messages from Keith, Ivan and Agnes – but he scrolled past those to look at Kotetsu's last message to him. There were no updates, of course.

‘ _ I should say sorry. Even if it's just a text,’ he thought. But his fingers wouldn't move. _

Three days without a peep from Kotetsu;, Barnaby was mildly concerned. Even before, Kotetsu had made the effort to reach out to him by doing stuff like sending him stupid pictures of cats he found in alleys or trying to catch him at work. He’d brushed him off each time, but Kotetsu hadn’t given up. Just like it wasn’t like Kotetsu to give up, it also wasn't like Kotetsu to skip work. Not over hurt feelings. Kotetsu pushed through things like his friends being brainwashed and his powers disappearing to  _ be _ a Hero.  He did, on the second day, ask Lloyds and Agnes about Kotetsu’s absence. Their answer was that he’d taken a leave from work. It wasn’t a good enough answer for Barnaby.

‘ _ Maybe you finally broke him,’  _ a tiny voice suggested.

That thought was enough to push him to suck his pride up and ask someone else about Kotetsu. That someone turned out to be Nathan, who was infinitely easier to catch than Karina, who was actively avoiding him.

“Oh, Handsome, looking for me?”

Barnaby caught him at the Hero Bar sharing a drink with Antonio, who looked surprised to see him.

“Where's Kotetsu?” Barnaby asked, right to the point.

Antonio opened his mouth but Nathan tsk'ed, placing a finger on his lips to shut him up. “Finally noticed something’s missing, Handsome?” Nathan propped up his arm on the counter and rested his head on it, striking an amused pose.

“I… did.”

“Nice to see you being so honest. I do like you this way better,” Nathan jumped off his seat and then turned behind him to Antonio. “I'll handle this, you go drink up. I'll catch you later.”

He sashayed up to Barnaby then. “There's a private room here. Care to join me?”

Barnaby looked to Antonio, who avoided his gaze and focused on drinking his whiskey instead. He had a distinct feeling that something was up but without much of a choice, he agreed to Nathan's offer.

Nathan didn't beat around the bush either.

“Tiger’s retiring,” the flame hero began simply. “In fact, he's back in Oriental Town now.”

“That's a lie. Kotetsu wouldn't retire without telling me.”

Nathan chuckled. “Are you so sure about that? Or do I know him better than you, Handsome?”

“I  _ know.  _ Besides, Kaede's still studying here.”

“Tiger has many friends. Me included, of course. Any one of us can watch over Kaede while she finishes high school. “

“It wouldn't make sense. Management would have said something-”

“Mmm. You know Tiger doesn’t like making a big deal about his things. Besides, maybe he asked them not to tell you? I know I wouldn’t tell you if he asked.”

“Then…. Why are you telling me this now?”

“Seeing my friends hurting isn’t something I can stand for, Handsome. First it’s little Rose and then you. And Tiger, of course. The others don’t have the sensitivity to notice what I have–” Nathan placed his hands on his hips. “Tiger broke your heart too, didn’t he?”

Barnaby didn’t respond.

“You’re probably asking  _ how.  _ It doesn’t take a genius in love like me to know.”

“He didn't break my heart,” Barnaby said after a long moment of silence. “I did. And I couldn't handle it.”

Nathan hmm'd.

“He's not interested in me. Or anyone. I knew he still loved his wife and yet I…” Remembering it brought up ugly feelings Barnaby had been struggling and failing to put out.

“I don't know what happened between the two of you, Handsome, but I just have one question for you.”

Barnaby looked up.

“Do you think he hates you now?”

After a brief pause, Barnaby shook his head: “No.” Not after he kissed him, not even after that last exchange. The realization hit him like a brick. More likely than not, it was Kotetsu who hated himself.

“I have to… I have to stop him, I don't want him to retire, not like this.”

Nathan let out a laugh. “ See that was simple. Now, you know where he lives. Why don't you visit him already?”

“But work…”

“You'll just have to leave the hero points to us. Or is Tiger worth less than your precious hero points?”

“No.”

Decided, Barnaby spun on his heels, mind poring over how to get to Oriental Town the fastest way.  Before he could go, though, Nathan stopped him one last time.

“Handsome, I know you have all these assumptions about Tiger. But it doesn't hurt to ask,  _ especially,  _ with Tiger involved. Oh, and don't forget to ask about Blue.”

“Blue?” Barnaby arched an eyebrow. The color? He nodded anyway. “ I will. Thank you.”

 

***

 

Getting to Oriental Town was easy, albeit time consuming. Not willing to travel by transit, Barnaby took his own car with him for a trip that took no less than three hours. When he got to Oriental Town, however, he realized several things: One, that taking his flashy sports car out to the countryside was not the best of ideas and two, he knew Kotetsu's hometown was Oriental Town but not necessarily the exact address.

The only thing that saved him was his good sense to wait until early morning to travel, which meant he arrived at Oriental Town in the middle of the day. He was doubly grateful that there were people to ask  _ and _ that they seemed to know where to direct him even before he asked. Even here, it seemed that they knew about Kotetsu's 'secret’ identity already.

It was Kaede who opened the door for him and a series of emotions seemed to flash on her face before she ran to the back of the house.

“Daddy! It's Barnaby!”

Shortly after, Barnaby heard a series of crashes followed by the sound of Kotetsu crying out in pain.

“B-bunny!” Kotetsu sputtered, dirt caked on his knees and shirt. “W-what are you doing here?”

“You retired without telling me.” He shook his head and marched up to Kotetsu, hands reaching out to grab his partner by his shoulders.. “I know I said some mean things but I didn’t mean it. I could never mean it. I don’t want you to retire, Kotetsu. If I could, I’d make it so you never have to retire.”

“Bunny, I-”

“Please come back to Stern Bild with me!” Barnaby finished without even letting Kotetsu get a word in.

“I… will. I mean…”

“Is it… no good?”

“Oh no, no. Bunny, don't make that face. Look, I'm not retiring yet, and I  _ will  _ come back to Stern Bild. It's just that my mom's at the hospital right now and, you know, I had some time off so I thought I'd take it….”

' _ Huh? _ ’

“You're not retiring… yet.”

“No. I… just… had some circumstance and we, well… weren't in good terms I thought maybe you wouldn't miss me… but you, know, my mom's getting a bit older and the doctor said she should take it easy and I thought maybe I could take a few more days off to help out a bit…” Kotetsu sighed and cleared his throat. “Sorry, Bunny.”

“Why are you even saying sorry? It was me…”

“Because I  _ am _ sorry. I should've… told you. Said sorry sooner too. About…. _ That. “ _

“Maybe you should take this elsewhere. You guys probably need a lot to straighten up and you're just blocking the hallway like this.” Kaede suggested, waving at them to remind them that she was still there.

“Ah right… uh. We have a guest room over here. My room right now, actually. Let's go over there...the living room's taken right now.”

“That's right,” Kaede said, shooing them away good naturedly. “Now go make out, I mean make up, you two!”

Barnaby detected a hint of red on Kotetsu's face as he said: “She's got her weird ideas about us…. Just ignore what she said.”

Kotetsu grabbed his hand then to lead him. But looking back, he could clearly see Kaede giving him a thumbs up.

“About, you know. What we were talking about back there,” Kotetsu started once they were all settled in the guest room. While he had Barnaby sit on his bed though, he insisted on standing up because of his soiled clothes. “ I've been meaning to apologize. I know I made things awkward for the two of us… You probably think I'm into you and you're not into old men like me. Please forget it ever happened and I promise it'll never happen again. It's just, I mean… no excuses…”

Even said indirectly like this, it still stung for Barnaby. But this time instead of running off to deal with his feelings on his own, he decided to own up to his feelings.

Karina had, he could do it too. It was, come to think of it, only fair for Kotetsu to know at this point anyway.

“I love you, Kotetsu. I kissed you because I wanted to. And I know you're not looking for any relationship right now…. Because you still love your wife… but I wanted to let you know, because you're my partner.“

“... I just kiss people sometimes when I'm drunk like– Huh?  _ Huh _ ?!”

“I'm sorry.”

“No, no. Please don't… it's just. That's hard to believe, Bunny.”

“What's so hard to believe about that? Karina confessed to you.”

“Karina's Karina… but you're. You. I just… thought you'd like someone better than me. Maybe .. a sexy woman?” Kotetsu made shapes around his chest area.

Barnaby narrowed his eyes at Kotetsu. “What made you think that?”

“I don't know! I just… I thought… I was the last person you'd like. I mean, I make work harder for you, and I'm kind of a goof… you're good looking and I'm just this old man..”

“You think I'm good looking.”

“If I'm honest, the word is pretty…” Kotetsu laughed lightly and scratched at his cheek.

“I don't understand you,” Barnaby sighed before cracking a tiny smile.

“I guess I don't understand myself as well.” Kotetsu offered helpfully.

Barnaby stood up and closed in on Kotetsu again. He remember Nathan's words. He had to ask, clearly. “Did you find it disgusting when we kissed, Kotetsu?”

Kotetsu tilted his head. “No. Why would I… ?”

“You pushed me away. “

“I was surprised!  You were my partner and you were kissing and— But I was definitely- “ and Kotetsu shook his head for emphasis – “not disgusted.  M-maybe I liked it… ”

“I thought you were… it hurt. “

“I'm sorry, Bunny. “

“Mm… I made you think I didn't want you either, somehow. So I guess we're even.”

“You're getting close, Bunny.”

And he was. By now there was barely any space between them and Kotetsu was pressed up against the door.

“Kotetsu, can I kiss you again?”

“You're…. Asking me out now, aren't you?”

Barnaby pretended to think for a moment. “Yes, Kotetsu.”

“Then…” Kotetsu looked away just a bit. “If you're okay settling with me. I'm… Bunny, kiss me.”

The kiss this time was a lot less innocent from the start with Kotetsu opening his mouth for him at the get go. It made Barnaby want to hold on to something for purchase, which he did, by bracing himself on the door and using his other hand to hold Kotetsu closer.

In turn, Kotetsu’s hands went for his shoulder and hips, and he recognized the apprehension there. It was nice kissing like this but it was all so new and, admittedly, kind of scary.

He sighed as he broke away and pressed his head their heads together. “So that’s a ‘yes’,” Barnaby whispered, smiling.

Kotetsu licked his lips and smiled. “Yeah. That’s a yes. If you’ll have me. I still don’t know what you see in me-“

“I see a lot. If you need me to explain it, I can type up a report for you,” Barnaby suggested. If that was what it took for Kotetsu to accept that he was someone Barnaby fully wanted, then he was prepared to do it.

“I don’t think I need  _ that _ kind of affirmation,” Kotetsu said with a laugh. There was a mellow look on Kotetsu’ face then, which Barnaby understood very well.

There was still so much between them and he doubted a kiss and a few words of affirmation did much to change all of that. There were their careers to think of, Kotetsu’s feelings for Tomoe, and everything else in between.  That long drive had given Barnaby a lot of time to think, though, and at the end of each scenario he played out with the open road as its stage, he found himself going back to one thing: That there wasn’t anything he wouldn’t do for Kotetsu, regardless of whether or not their partnership changed to something more.

“Hey, Bunny? Hey?” Kotetsu was waving his hand over Barnaby’s face. “You still there?”

“Sorry, I was just thinking. What is it Kotetsu?”

“Well… I know you coming here, you probably didn’t think about staying long. But can you? Just staying for a few more days.”

Barnaby shook his head. “I don’t mind. I don’t think I want to be driving again for a while, anyway.”

Kotetsu laughed. “You didn’t drive your mustang all the way here, did you?”

“I did. I hope you recognize the sacrifice of my mileage.”

Kotetsu punched him lightly. “I told you I’d go out with you, right? Anyway- aside from my brother probably wanting to check out your ride… I was thinking maybe you’d like to meet my mom? And…… Now that you’re here? Meet Tomoe?”

“I’ll stay.”

 

***

 

In the end, Barnaby stayed for three more days and in that time, it seemed to Barnaby that he’d met almost everyone in Kotetsu’s hometown. Or rather, they flocked towards him for autographs.

“Kotetsu’s old news here, but you, young boy! My daughter and  _ her _ daughter would really appreciate it if you can sign something for them!”  An old farmer said, waving a two notebooks for him to sign.

“If you ever feel tired, just let me know,” Kotetsu whispered to him at some point, to which he just smiled: “It’s fine. I can handle a few autographs. It’s part of being a Hero, right?”

Kotetsu had scoffed and, as if to throw him back to the sharks, gave him a light pat towards the gaggle of adoring grandmas and grandpas.

That first night in, Barnaby could hardly believe they were together. Nothing happened, naturally, aside from that kiss and a few meaningful hand-holding. He remembered when he told Kotetsu a lot of things were going to stay the same even with his powers gone. Well, he wondered if the same applied with their relationship.

He met Kotetsu’s mother, of course, whose eyes twinkled as she said, “I was wondering when Kotetsu will bring his partner home.” She’d just been discharged from the hospital at that point, eager to resume her gardening. Kaede explained that the reason she’d been in the hospital in the first place was because she’d slipped and fractured a bone in her leg. She wasn’t going to be gardening any time soon but since neither Kotetsu nor Kaede could really stay for too long, it just meant she was going to be living with Kotetsu’s older brother.

Kotetsu’s older brother was a lot different than he expected him to be. He’d met Muramasa a few years ago, when he’d visited for Justice Day, but hadn’t had the chance to really form a solid impression of the older man.

“Take care of my brother, Barnaby. He’s an idiot, but he’s my little brother,” Muramasa said sternly even before Kaede broke to him that Kotetsu and him were dating already.

“It’s about time,” was what he said about that before offering wine from his store.

Despite the warm reception from Kotetsu’s family, however, the reality that Kotetsu had acknowledge him as his boyfriend didn’t really sink in until the afternoon before they meant to go back home to Stern Bild. It was then that Kotetsu took him by the hand and led him out on the road for a little walk.

“Where are we going?” Barnaby asked.

“Well, now that you’ve met my family- and everyone in town, really - I thought I’d have you meet one more person.”

“One more person-”

“Yeah.”

Barnaby followed Kotetsu silently and eventually they broke away from the main road and followed a small path that led to a cemetery. It was there that Barnaby felt himself grow anxious.  _ Tomoe _ .

Eventually, they came to stand before a tall epitaph where Kotetsu, who had taken a wooden pail and ladle from the entrance, took the time to clean it. When he was done, he kneeled in front of it.

“The Kaburagi family grave. Some three generations of Kaburagis that migrated from our home country are here. This-” Kotetsu gestured to a series of a characters. “-stands for Kaburagi. And this stands for the word ‘family’.”

Barnaby followed Kotetsu's example.

“When Tomoe died, my family were the ones to bring her back here for a proper funeral ceremony. I almost missed it too. I guess that was my prime back then.”

Kotetsu clasped his hands and closed his eyes for a few moments. Barnaby realized then that he had been praying.

“Tomoe, I’ve got Bunny with me right now. I don’t know if you’ve been watching all this time. If it’s okay with you, I’m dating him right now. I’m still a Hero because of him, too, though I can’t tell you how long that’s going to last… Kaede told me it’s alright to move on and you’d be happy about that… But I still wanted to tell you regardless. He’s very important to me. ”

Barnaby took that as his cue. Following Kotetsu’s example, he kneeled and clasped his hands together.  “I promise to take care of him. I’ll make sure he doesn’t get hurt-... too badly. Kotetsu likes to run into trouble a lot. If you don’t mind, I wouldn’t mind a little help watching over him, too.”

“Bunny-!”

“I know you’re still very important to him. And that’s okay with me. I think you were a very important person to Kotetsu. You still are. And without you there to tell him to keep on going, I don’t think I’d be here. So, thank you.”

He smiled at Kotetsu then, who smiled back at him.

Kotetsu stood up first and then extended a hand out for him. “I guess you’ve essentially gotten permission from everyone that matters.”

“So you’re like a daughter now and I just asked for permission from everyone?” Barnaby asked as he took Kotetsu’s offer of help.

“Hey! It’s just… I guess it’s a traditional thing. Where you inform family members out of courtesy. Though, I wanted to tell Tomoe before really moving forward.”

“I was honestly afraid you’d never …”

“I think. If it weren’t for you, I might not have,” Kotetsu said simply. He took a deep breathe  “Now that I’ve said that- Bunny, let’s go back. Not just to my house out here but… to Stern Bild. Our home.”

They returned to Stern Bild the next day. The topic of, maybe, getting his sports car transported back to Stern Bild while they took the train back was brought up. But they all agreed it was probably cheaper, and less of a hassle, to just take the car and drive it.

And as much as Barnaby was hesitant about it, Kotetsu did get a chance to drive his car on the second half of their long drive. Surprisingly, as Barnaby teased, they lived to tell the tale.

“Aha- looks like somebody’s made up,” Nathan announced when they finally came back to work together.

“Yeah, we did,” Barnaby confirmed without missing a beat. “I’m sorry for worrying everyone.”

“Who says we were worried,” Karina shot back and then mumbled.  “But it’s good you’re back… even Tiger.”

Barnaby caught Karina glancing quickly over at Kotetsu before looking away.

Beside him, Kotetsu, who noticed as well, murmured quietly, “Karina…”

“But really, when Barnaby left like he did and didn’t go home, Karina was worried too,” Pao Lin said. “It’s good to have you two back. Barnaby, Mr. Tiger.”

“That’s right! It’s good to have our fellow Heroes back!” Keith said happily, stepping up to them with his hands held up in his usual away.

“So, does that mean everything’s back to normal?” Ivan asked. “It is…. Right?”

“Mmm,” Nathan arched an eyebrow. “Why don’t we ask them: Handsome, Tiger… is everything back to normal?”

Barnaby recognized that tone and wisely guarded against it. Kotetsu, however, was not and made a little sound that was almost a whimper. It was almost amusing; there was no way they were going to be keeping their relationship a secret from Nathan. (Not that they had any plan to.)

Nathan’s laugh was something Barnaby could only describe as menacing. “But I suppose that’s something for later, huh?”

Fortunately for him, Nathan’s implication seemed to fly over everyone else. Except Karina, that was, who huffed and spun around sharply saying something about going to train in the VR Room.

“Kotetsu-” Barnaby started, ready to come after Karina. Thankfully, he didn’t need to explain further.

“You go first. I’ll have to talk to her later too but from what you told me…”

“Thanks. I’ll tell you all about it later. But first-”

As he left, he heard Keith’s puzzled voice. “Why does he have to talk to Karina?”

It was followed by Nathan’s saying; “You sweet summer child…”

Inside the VR room, Karina was waiting for him with her arms crossed when Barnaby entered. She hadn’t set up an environment yet and didn’t look like she planned to just yet.

“I knew you’d follow me,”  she said. “I’d rather you didn’t lord this over me, Barnaby.”

Barnaby shook his head. “I’m not here to lord anything over you, Karina. I’m just here to say sorry.”

“Hah?” Karina said out loud, an eyebrow raised, as if she couldn't believe Barnaby could apologize. “If he chose you, that’s not something to be sorry about.”

“It’s for saying what I did back then. It wasn’t fair,” he said quietly then paused before continuing. “I know I don’t have to apologize for Kotetsu choosing me. That would be insulting you.”

“I’m glad you know that. On both cases,” Karina waved her dismissively. “So is that all? Because I really do have to train.” She started to turn around, as if willing him to go away.

But Barnaby wasn’t done yet.  “I still want to be friends. I like to think we were able to become closer these past few years because of Kotetsu. I want to remain friends.”

“That’s a strange way of putting our relationship,” Karina said with a little smile.  Then she looked down. “But I guess you’re right…”

Barnaby  _ knew _ he was right. Even before Barnaby saw Karina as his rival for Kotetsu’s (scatterbrained) affections, they had been co-workers and then friends. Even if they had gotten closer later on because of Kotetsu, there was a solid foundation laid out before that.

“I don’t know… if I can… really,” Karina whispered, finally, after that time.. “I guess I’m still… bitter.” She smiled at Barnaby, a little painfully.

“I understand. I … might have been, in my own way, if Kotetsu hadn’t chosen me,” Barnaby said, though he wondered if he could really understand Karina. He didn’t think he wanted to anyway, if it meant getting an idea of how it would feel like not to have Kotetsu for himself.  “But I can wait. And Kotetsu can too.”

She let out a little incredulous laugh. “That’s so mean, bringing Tiger up like that.”

“He’s a lot more shook up than you think about losing you as a friend.”

Karina deadpanned. “And then he hooked up with you.”

“I can’t deny it led to that,” Barnaby admitted, looking aside slightly. It was very close to the truth. If Karina hadn’t confessed, they wouldn’t have ended up in the situation they did. Barnaby would have continued to be satisfied being Kotetsu’s partner to this day.

“Give me your hand.” Karina said suddenly, snapping him out of his thoughts.

“Huh?”

“I said give me your hand,” Karina repeated, more forcefully this time.

Not understanding but accepting that this must be part of what he had to appease Karina, he extended out his hand. “Here.”

Karina nodded approvingly before bringing her hands together and… cracking her fists? Barnaby was apprehensive but he continued to hold his hand up for Karina. Without much warning, she proceeded to deliver the harshest slap she could toat his hand. “I can’t slap you in the face, so there! And just so you know…. I could never stay angry for too long at Kotetsu.” Her shoulders sagged. “Kaede means too much for me to do that….  But give me time. I’m still angry  _ at you _ .”

Barnaby brought up his hand, studying the red mark there Karina’s hand had left.  “That hurt.”

“It better,” Karina said with a sneer. She began shooing Barnaby off. “Now go. You have to talk to Agnes right? Besides, I need to train.”

She turned her back fully at him then. “Go!”

 

***

 

“Give me some time to formulate a plan. Until then you have the rest of the day off. No Hero appearances or anything of the sort. Because you were gone for so long  _ together _ , there have been some rumors.” was Agnes’ words when Barnaby and Kotetsu had finished explaining their situation.

And so that was how the two of them ended up at Barnaby’s loft that night, essentially under house arrest of sorts. Agnes had recommended they kept their presence in Stern Bild at a minimum for now, after all. They sat on the floor together, drinking wine together.

“Knowing Ms. Agnes, I think she’s going to give us two options,” Barnaby explained. “If not three. But I’m not taking the third option.”

“Retirement… isn’t it?” Kotetsu suggested.

“Just like you don’t want me to retire when you retire. I don’t want you to retire just because we’ve started a relationship. “

“It’s okay, I’m not thinking of retiring just yet. Soon - some day in the future. But not like this. So what are the other two?”

“Either we hide our relationship, or advertise it as such. She’s probably formulating an explanation for both as we speak. I trust Ms. Agnes in that I think both are going to be fine plans. It’s you I’m more concerned about. You’re not exactly as open as I am… Mr. I’m-not-Kotetsu-Wild Tiger.”

“You got me there,” Kotetsu said. “I’m fine either way. Whichever you’re more comfortable with, Bunny. I think, if it’s with you… I’ll be fine. That means less people asking about your love lives, huh?”

Barnaby shrugged. “Or asking about  _ our _ love lives specifically, instead.”

“Heh… of course, there’s that.”

“If it’s okay, though. I’d like to keep the option where we keep our relationship low-key for now. If it spills, it spills…. For now. I want to have you all to myself with no one asking about where we’re spending a holiday, or what we’re doing on Valentine’s–”

“You know they already asked that before, right? Even I remember.”

“Well, in  _ our _ context.”  Barnaby explained and then brought his glass up for a little cheers. “I missed this.”

“I missed it too. It’s not the same without you. I mean- I know we were together back home. But alone like this…. I’m starting to think why Kaede wondered about us not being together.”

“In the end, not a lot changed. Or will change…. Except for this, I guess,” Barnaby used that  moment to kiss Kotetsu. “Partners don’t do that.”

“No, partners really don’t,” Kotetsu whispered against his lips.

When Barnaby drew away, he suddenly remembered something. “By the way, Kotetsu. Nathan said to ask you about…. ‘Blue’? But blue isn’t your favorite color, right?”

Kotetsu began coughing as if he’d swallowed wrong.

“Kotetsu?” Barnaby put his wine glass down to help Kotetsu but the latter just waved him away.

“I’m fine- it’s just… went down the wrong way… when I swallowed-”

Barnaby studied Kotetsu for a moment and then narrowed his eyes. “Hmm. So ‘blue’ is something, isn’t it?”

Kotetsu looked away.

“I’d appreciate a little honest from my boyfriend, please.”

Kotetsu sniffed. “Low blow…. But figures Nathan would bring it up-..... The radio show. I-” he coughed and then spoke very quickly: “IaskedNathantoaskthatguytoaskyouthosequestions.”

Barnaby raised an eyebrow. “That guy… and questions?”

“Mr. Blue’s radio show…. Kaede asked me about what kind of person you liked. So…… I thought about asking. But… asked Nathan instead.”

It took awhile for Barnaby to realize what Kotetsu was saying. He’d had a lot of interviews in his life, he couldn’t exactly recall each and everyone. But then he did, because that was when Nathan spoke with him after saying something about getting points. If it weren’t for that, he wouldn’t have recalled it all.

“You didn’t even think to ask me.”

“I tried to, Bunny! …. But it was hard. And it wasn’t really something I’d ask you and I didn’t want you getting the wrong idea or anything….”

“I’m kind of offended,” Barnaby said.

“Bunny!”

“But that’s in the past. You know what I like now,” he continued, smiling. “Besides… I guess you asked because you were interested then, weren’t you?”

Barnaby knew it wouldn’t be readily apparent to others, but he saw the traces of a blush on Kotetsu’s cheeks. “That’s a yes.”

“Kaede made me think about a lot of things.”

“Hey–” Barnaby reached for Kotetsu’s hand, to clasp it in his own. Kotetsu’s ring was still there but Barnaby no longer felt threatened by it. “If there’s anything you want to know, all you have to do is ask me. I’ll be sure to ask you too, Kotetsu.”

“I can’t promise there won’t be times when I fall back to old habits- but … you have my word, Bunny, that I’ll do my best.”

Barnaby smiled, squeezing Kotetsu’s hand in his. That was very much enough for him for now.

  
  
  
  



End file.
